Srinagar:One man died and four others were critically injured Friday when an overloaded bus of Hurriyat Conference supporters hit an electric wire while heading to Srinagar for a separatist rally.

Police said the man who died after being electrocuted in Bijbehara town in Anantnag district had been identified as Nisar Ahmad. Two of the injured were sent to a hospital in Srinagar while the other two were admitted in Anantnag.

For the first time, the separatists decided to offer Friday prayers at the Eidgah grounds in the old city area of Srinagar. The lawns are otherwise reserved for offering Eid prayers twice a year.

Thousands of Hurriyat supporters from across the Kashmir Valley gathered here to listen to their leaders.

The show of strength by the Hurriyat Conference led to closure of shops and schools here, ending a three-day break from shutdowns. But there was no extra deployment of police or paramilitary troopers around Eidgah in the old city.

"Security forces have been given clear directions to exercise maximum restraint," Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda told IANS.

The state has been on the boil for about two months over a row involving allotment of land to the Amarnath shrine board. Violence during protests and counter protests in the Kashmir Valley and Jammu region have claimed several lives.

The Hurriyat Conference has announced a shutdown Saturday and Sunday, and called for another rally Monday in city centre Lal Chowk.

 

Source : IANS